Mount Vernon High Grad Killed in Car Crash: Police

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- A Mount Vernon High School graduate died Saturday morning in a single-vehicle crash in Brunswick County, Va., Virginia State Police announced Monday.

Police say the deceased, Amari S. Newton, 18, was a passenger in the car and died at the scene after the driver of the car hit a tree. Police say Newton was not wearing a seatbelt. She was a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, according to her Facebook page.

Virginia State Police Trooper K.H. Pearce is investigating the fatal crash that occurred Saturday at about 10:17 a.m. on Interstate 85 at the 38 mile marker in Brunswick County, police said. The crash took place about an hour-and-a-half south of the university.

Destiny A. Freeman, 18, of Lorton, was driving the car, a 2007 Saturn Aura, according to police. She was not injured in the crash, police said; she was wearing a seat belt. Police say Freeman was charged with reckless driving. The car was traveling south on I-85 when it ran off the left side of the interstate, struck a tree and overturned, according to police. The crash remains under investigation.

A third passenger in the car, a 20-year-old male, was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle, according to police.

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